A beautiful specimen and shade tree, Yellow Birch is the tallest birch in North American and one of the most beautiful of the hardwoods.
 
     In the open, it forms a large canopy with yellowish, peeling bark turning a medium brown with age.  It is a great tree for an open area or as part of a wooded garden.  In the wild Betual alleghaniensis often grows with Paper Birch, Northern Red Oak, Hop Hornbeam, Sugar Maple and Witch Hazel.
 
     Like all Birch, Betula alleghaniensis is considered a Keystone Plant because it supports hundreds of lepidoptera caterpillars including the Canadian Tiger Swallowtail, Mourning Cloak, Red-spotted Purple. 
 
     Woodpeckers, sparrows and chickadees eat the seeds, and hummingbirds and hawks nest in its branches.
 
     Fun fact: The twigs taste like wintergreen, and the tree can be tapped for sap, although the sap contains less sugar than sap from the Sugar Maple.